Whatever It Takes To Win One Game

Manny Nunez
Monday May 26, 2014

The Los Angeles KISS are doing whatever it takes to not only get back on the winning track, but also play consistent. From the front office to the head coach they have done all that they could up to this point to put the team in position to be a competitor. They let go of a lot of athletes that were a part of the beginning expansion roster, including wide receivers Markee White and Samie Parker. They tried to solve the quarterback issue by giving J.J. Raterink a second chance with the Iowa Barnstormers and brought in hall of famer Aaron Garcia, who has decades of arena football experience. New faces have been appearing left and right since their last embarrassment at home against Spokane, so many fans that came into the Honda Center were relying on Garcia and Donovan Morgan to light the show against the defending champion Arizona Rattlers

And to be honest, things started off great. Garcia and the KISS took their first drive and took control of a few Rattler mistakes. Andreas Vargas, who only had one rush to his name before taking the field, put the KISS on the board first and gave them any kind of lead for the first time in six weeks. Even after giving up a touchdown from Nick Davila to Kerry Reed for 30 yards, this KISS team had looked a lot different from their last home loss. Their offense was slowly starting to get back in sync. The team had been talking to each other on what routes they need to be running. They were becoming to mesh as a team, and appeared to quite possibly have a fighting chance to compete against the most elite team in Arena Football.

Then on the next possession, Garcia gets knocked out for a brief moment after getting manhandled by the Rattlers defensive line. Tyler Hansen takes over, and two interceptions later, the KISS had found themselves down by double digits yet again. Dropped passes had haunted them throughout the rest of the game. Seven times they reached the redzone, only managing to put up points in three of those possessions. And little by little, the Rattler lead began to balloon, while all head coach Bob McMillen could do was look over the field and wonder what happened to a team that had started 2-1 and have since lost nearly every game by double digits, including a 70-25 free fall on Sunday

It has been the same story line for nearly every week during their seven game losing streak. From sloppy play by their three quarterbacks that they have tried out, to miscommunication by its defensive secondary, to even dropped passes that have loomed by their carousel of receivers. Every week they have come out of practice at the very least hopeful, only to be ripped into pieces in every way possible.

Can there be any good from a team that has lost themselves? After digging very deep, there are two things that have emerged. A.J. Cruz was one of the few players that was fortunate enough to sign with the KISS from their open tryouts just weeks before the season had even started. Every kickoff return he has taken he has been able to put his team in position to score. In ten returns he managed to earn 270 total yards and had averaged the team to start at around midfield. He has been the only player that McMillen had been raving about in recent weeks, one of the few he feels that has been putting all of his heart and soul on the field.

Speaking of tryouts, the KISS will be holding another one June 1 at Whittier College. It is unsure how many spots will be open, but by how the team's mood has been, no position has been proven to be safe, including the all important quarterback spot. The mood has turned somber, gloomy, and dark. Many of the players have been feeling the pain and suffering in each loss they have tallied, and by watching this KISS team on the field, they have looked more frustrated with themselves than with the game

The other good that has still come out of this season is the fact that they play in the National Conference. With only six teams, three of which are playing as bad as the KISS, one win can change their season. They currently sit one game behind the Portland Thunder (3-8) for the final wild card spot. The team also visits the Honda Center in a few weeks.

But it is hard to talk about the playoffs considering that in this market, making the playoffs is not enough. There are no quotes, no stats, and no real explanation as to how this season has completely turned around. Let's just say that their bye week could not have come any sooner.